According to sources, director Peter Jackson and his team, as well as executives at Warner Bros. and New Line, agreed that Horn could keep the credit if he chose, and Disney CEO Robert Iger has given his blessing.

Horn, who had been Warners president until Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes ushered him out in April 2011, received the credit in recognition of his role in overcoming serious obstacles to getting the two-part Hobbit off the ground.

Of course, Horn cannot occupy himself with the films as chairman of rival Disney, a job he starts June 11, but a source says the pictures, which were filmed simultaneously during a 250-day shoot, have wrapped principal photography and are in good shape. (Part one, An Unexpected Journey, hits theaters in December.)

This insider says the bulk of Horn's work is done, but he is said to be planning one last trip to New Zealand to visit the Hobbit team at the end of June.